This invention relates to cabinets or storage facilities for use in hotel rooms for delivery or storage of items that may be requested by a guest or other occupant of a room or suite in a hotel or similar facility. The invention is more particularly concerned with a convenient and efficient mechanism for receiving requested items, such as food service deliveries to the room or suite, or requests for linen items such as towels, sheets, soap, shampoo, to the room, and for holding items to be returned to or picked up by hotel staff.
At present it is typical for a hotel or similar guest accommodation, even for an expensive upscale hotel or resort, that the hallway is littered with trays containing dirty dishes. That is, the guest or customer has no place to store or return the dishes, trays, and flatware from a room-service delivery, except to place them in the hallway outside the guest room door. This creates an eyesore and diminishes the appearance of the hotel, as well as creating a potential tripping hazard and a liability risk.
If a guest wants to order breakfast from room service, the guest phones down to the desk and places an order. The timing is such that the meal arrives in a 15-30 minute window, which can create awkward situations for the guests: The guest may be in the shower when the meal arrives; or the guest or spouse may not be fully dressed, and would not want a stranger entering the room, when the guest is not ready.
Also, if the room occupant determines that he or she needs an extra towel or extra blanket, the guest can call housekeeping, and someone from housekeeping staff will bring the item to the room sometime thereafter, and the same situation may appear that the person is not dressed, is in the bath or shower, or is absent from the room when the staff member comes and knocks on the door.
These issues can be resolved by employing a cabinet for each room that allows the hotel staff to place guest-ordered items into the cabinet from the hallway and allows the guests to obtain them from inside the room and then place the used dishes and linen items back into the cabinet for pickup. However, to date no such facility is available nor has any been proposed that would be suitable for a hotel or other similar place of public accommodation.